re: what is perjury
According to the most recent U.S. Supreme Court decision I can find, the definition is as follows:
"In determining what constitutes perjury, we rely upon the definition that has gained general acceptance and common understanding under the federal criminal perjury statute, 18 U.S.C. 1621. A witness testifying under oath or affirmation violates this statute if she gives false testimony concerning a material matter with the willful intent to provide false testimony, rather than as a result of confusion, mistake, or faulty memory . See 1621(1); United States v. Debrow, 346 U.S. 374, 376 (1953); United States v. Norris, 300 U.S. 564, 574, 576 (1937). This federal definition of perjury by a witness has remained unchanged in its material respects for over a century. See United States v. Smull, 236 U.S. 405, 408, and n. 1 (1915) (tracing history of 1621's predecessor, Act of Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 321, 125, 35 Stat. 1111). It parallels typical state law definitions of perjury, see American Law Institute, Model Penal Code 241.1 (1985); 4 C. Torcia, Wharton's Criminal Law 601 (14th ed. 1981), and has roots in the law dating back to at least the Perjury Statute of 1563, 5 Eliz. I, ch. 9, see Gordon, The Invention of a Common Law [507 U.S. 87, 95] Crime: Perjury and the Elizabethan Courts, 24 Am. J. Legal Hist. 145 (1980). See also 1 Colonial Laws of New York, 1664-1719, ch. 8, pp. 129-130 (reprinting "An Act to prevent wilfull Perjury," enacted Nov. 1, 1683)."
U.S. Supreme Court
UNITED STATES v. DUNNIGAN, 507 U.S. 87 (1993)
A really interesting case in which the Supreme uphald the NLRB in making an award to a perjuror (as being in the NLRB's discretion, is
laws.findlaw.com
U.S. Supreme Court
ABF FREIGHT SYS., INC. v. NLRB, ___ U.S. ___ (1994)
I think we'll hear more about this case in the coming days. The Supreme Court saying that perjury is of secondary importance. |
